


laurel

by fossilizedbirds (pigeonsatdawn)



Series: lauki week 2020 ✨ [4]
Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Apollo/Daphne - Freeform, Based On Poetry, Drabble, F/M, Greek Myth!AU, Light Angst, Metamorphosis, Sort Of, all i know is the things in PJO/HOO/TOA, and i am PROUD of that, but take that, have fun, i know no shit when it comes to greek romances, idc abt the tags anymore, the gods are back (hey), yes that is a weirdass pair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:34:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27005902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pigeonsatdawn/pseuds/fossilizedbirds
Summary: a tale of two individuals, cursed to be the bane of the other by the gods.(alternatively, a dramatic retelling of the purple hyacinth where eph and soph are referred to as the gods.)
Relationships: Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White
Series: lauki week 2020 ✨ [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965910
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	laurel

**Author's Note:**

> pov: you’re part of the gods, looking over kieran trying his best to retain his humanity, and mocking him from above. (i am possibly referring to some people in the discord server. possibly not. i just wanted to write some stuff about the gods.)
> 
> p.s. this has nothing to do about the laurel. idek why that's the title.
> 
> i don't know how to incorporate greek myth into lauki, so i wrote it this way. enjoy anyway.

_**init—** _

_Prīmus amor Phoebī Daphnē Peneia, quem nōn fors ignāra dedit, sed saeva Cupīdinis īra,_

**THE GODS THINK** it’s hilarious that Kieran White, quite more accurately the Purple Hyacinth, one who has stopped the beating hearts of so many people, is trying to retain a heart of his own. They’re also quite angered at the fact that here he is, running around playing God, acting like he has the right to do whatever he wants with humanity, mistaking his immunity with a sense of immortality and using it as an excuse to be so _brazen_ in what he does. The gods watch Kieran from above with much amusement and indignance—there is rarely a day of peace in the heavens when Kieran chooses to do something, whether as the Purple Hyacinth or as himself.

So they think it would do good to mock him, remind him of the humanity he _can’t_ have. And so they send his way a woman so beautiful, so powerful, so real in the midst of the chaos he seems to be caught up in. A woman, fighting for the side of the law, retaining her empathy as a human, even when the streets crawl with monsters.

Her name is Lauren Sinclair, her hair the color of warm blood, her eyes constantly illuminating a soft, golden glow. She stands like a goddess amongst sinful humans, catching the eye of whoever’s around wherever she goes. But, like most entities—and because the gods in the heavens think it’ll be entertaining—she is not without her own curse.

She is cursed with the inability to love the monster that he is.

_protinus alter amat, fugit altera nomen amantis._

•

_Sic deus in flammas abiit, sic pectore totō uritur et sterilem sperando nutrit amorem._

**AND SO KIERAN,** who is cursed to love, spends his time chasing the officer, making amends with her, even though he is aware he could never have the lady. The goddess. She is too good, too true for him, it will only be foolish for him to even dream. 

Yet, he dreams. He tries. He burns every time he thinks of how he’s harmed her, how he’s placed her in danger, how he’s the one to have settled the fear in her. The fear of _him_. He has been cursed to be the cause of her pain; she has been cursed to remain with the one who brings her pain. And yet, amidst all this, Kieran knows his feelings for Lauren are real. (At least, that’s what the gods make him believe.) So he tries, he pleads, as much as he can, to the gods—he does all in his power, which he normally uses to reap lives, to preserve hers instead.

It is but unfortunate that the lady will never return his affection. Some gods find it quite endearing, others revolting—but none had enough of a heart to take pity for the mere mortals, leaving them bound in their eternal curse, seemingly stemmed by a single man’s mistakes.

_ne prona cadas indignave laedi crura notent sentēs et sim tibi causa doloris!_

•

_Peneia cursu fugit cumque ipso verba inperfecta reliquit, tum quoque visa decens;_

**THIS IS NOT** quite the case. Lauren herself has made enough mistakes for her to be deemed worthy to curse by the gods. Perhaps it was her stubbornness, her unwillingness to let go of the past, that they choose to show her how much it is ruining her life instead. Or perhaps it is her selfishness, the way she does everything on her own, only for the things she cares about. She goes in pursuit of the truth alone, as always, leaving Kieran White and the protection he offers behind. 

And as curses go—if you try to avoid the curse, you will be cursed, hence the recursive tragedy of curses. So Lauren walks herself through death’s open doors, but she—strong-willed as ever—does not falter; does all with confidence, and a final prayer: that what she does will, at the very least, prevent people from experiencing the pain, the tragedy, that has allowed her to suffer for so long.

In some twisted manner, though it shouldn’t be much of a surprise, the gods decide to grant her dying wish, in exchange for her death itself.

_vix prece finitā torpor gravis occupat artūs._

•

_Hanc quoque Phoebus amat positāque in stipite dextrā sentit adhuc trepidare novo sub cortice pectus_

**KIERAN ARRIVES LATE** to the scene, and by the time he does, she is already but a limp body, the red of her hair darkened by blood, her fair skin tainted, and there is no longer light in her eyes. Kieran does not stop himself from crying out loud. He realizes then that he truly loves the woman, even if she has been sent to doom him, to make him fail at what he does. 

But with her death, he is released from the chains of his curse, and so he returns to his former self. He still loves Lauren, and this fuels him to finish what she has started—this also all part of the plan by the gods to fulfill her dying wish. They are viciously cruel in such a manner, using humanity for their own entertainment, yet giving them no choice but to thank the gods for the things they do provide.

But Kieran is not one who submits. He does not submit to the leader, nor will he to gods who have brought so much trouble in his life. So after he finishes the leader as he’s always wanted to, he leaves the police to deal with the rest, and lives a life of exile. The gods are impressed with his resilience, as they are with Lauren’s resolve. They grant him his last wish—even if he hasn’t wished it—allowing him to live in what looks like peace.

In exchange, they surround him with the hyacinths he has grown so acquainted to: to remind him of all the things he’s done, all the lives he’s taken, but most of all, because they know he is aware that Lauren would not like the way he’s chosen, that she’d want him to face justice, the _right_ way. So Kieran lives, but lives the rest of his life with regret.

_factis modo laurea ramis adnuit utque caput visa est agitasse cacumen._

**_—fin._ **

**Author's Note:**

> (my only notes on this, straight from the doc: ok lemme base it on apollo and daphne: kieran self conceited beauty, lauren who doesn’t give a shit yes yes ok)
> 
> this was written based of the story of Daphne and Apollo in Ovid's Metamorphosis.
> 
> the general idea is inspired by many of the other fics i've read in this beautiful site, so props to you!
> 
> **the translation of the latin verses, in order of appearance:**
> 
>   * _Daphne, daughter of Peneus, was Apollo's first love, which not blind chance, but Cupid’s savage anger, gave._
>   * _One suddenly loves, the other flees the name of lover._
>   * _Thus the god departed into flames, thus in his whole heart he is burned and he feeds futile love by hoping._
>   * _Do not fall forward, [do not] let the briars scar your thighs that are undeserving to be injured, and [do not] let me be the cause of your pain!_
>   * _Daphne fled him about to say more, and she left the unfinished words with him himself; then also she seemed graceful,_
>   * _Having barely finished the prayer, a heavy numbness seizes her limbs._
>   * _Apollo loves this one too and with a right hand placed on the trunk feels that her heart still trembles under the new bark_
>   * _The Laurel nodded with her made branches and the treetop, as if it were her head, seems to have shaken._
> 

> 
> this was shit and lazy, but thanks for reading nonetheless. now i am going to freaking Sleep.


End file.
